


Hey, how are you?

by StupidChild



Series: Fukunaga is bigender and Yamamoto is his/her soulmate, fight me (please don’t actually do that I‘m scared) [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (I can’t), Bigender Character, Bigender Fukunaga Shouhei, But that’s not a tag, Comfort, Dysphoria, Established Relationship, Friendship, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I think?, Jealousy, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Non-binary character, Nonbinary Ennoshita Chikara, Not much hurt tho bc I no I don’t write angst, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Sleepovers, They/Them pronouns for Ennoshita Chikara, envy - Freeform, i guess?, it is now lol, more like, take this platonic fluff I guess, the romantic relationships are more in the background this time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:15:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24942166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StupidChild/pseuds/StupidChild
Summary: It’s not often that Chikara and Shouhei can see each other in person. But when they do, it‘s always nice.Sometimes Chikara will take a good look at Shouhei and find themselves captivated by the sight.When the sun shines on her just right, it illuminates her face in a way that makes her look like a fairytale princess, her eyes sparkle with joy, and her pink lips somehow look softer than usual when this shy but absolutely content smile rests on her face.She looks beautiful, is the only thing Chikara can really say then.They’re almost envious.Sometimes they‘ll pull out their phone, take a picture and send it to Yamamoto, who will thank them happily and then continue to swoon over her. Shouhei will notice and raise an eyebrow, Chikara will chuckle softly and shake their head. Shouhei will just shrug and turn her attention back to whatever she was doing before.Chikara will smile, content. They’ll ignore that envy just a little longer.
Relationships: Ennoshita Chikara & Fukunaga Shouhei, Ennoshita Chikara & Fukunaga Shouhei & Nishinoya Yuu & Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Ennoshita Chikara/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Fukunaga Shouhei & Nishinoya Yuu, Fukunaga Shouhei & Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Fukunaga Shouhei/Yamamoto Taketora
Series: Fukunaga is bigender and Yamamoto is his/her soulmate, fight me (please don’t actually do that I‘m scared) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1775173
Kudos: 35





	Hey, how are you?

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I realize that it might seem kinda random that I use some characters‘ given name and then for others I don’t, but that’s because, while this fic is written in third person it’s still from Ennoshita‘s point of view so I only use a character‘s given name when Ennoshita addresses them with it.
> 
> I do that in all my fics.
> 
> It makes sense I s w e a r
> 
> This can be read as a stand alone fic but I would recommend reading the first story in this series.
> 
> Also I don’t know when this fic takes place- it’s like, after "It all started with a skirt" but before the third years graduate

"All right we‘re done for today! Clean up and I‘m buying all of you meat buns.", Ukai‘s Voice echoed through the gym.

Chikara grimaced. _Why today?_ "You don’t look like someone who just got promised free food. What’s up?", Narita asked. They sighed. "I’m actually supposed to be picking someone up from the train station after practice, so no meat buns for me.", Chikara answered. "Rip.", Kinoshita said seeming genuinely empathetic.

"Hey...who‘s that?", Kinoshita suddenly asked. Chikara turned their head to where their friend was pointing and saw a familiar face at the entrance of the gym. "Shouhei?"

The person took a step forward and sure enough, it was Shouhei. In a white dress, with black leggings underneath and a black cardigan, her school bag in hand and a backpack on her back. "She looks pretty.", Chikara thought. They got a weird feeling, they knew it was envy, they refused to acknowledge it.

Shouhei waved and mouthed the word "Hi". The crows went wild.

"Fukunaga what are you doin here?" Ryuunosuke was already running up to her. "SHOUHEI!" And Nishinoya was directly behind him. _Huh_. Chikara was supposed to pick her up, had she taken an earlier train?

"Hey who’s that and why does she seem familiar?", Chikara heard Hinata asking from somewhere behind her. "...isn’t that Nekoma‘s number six...?" That was Yamaguchi. Chikara wasn‘t sure if that was a question or a statement.

Ryuunosuke and Nishinoya were excitedly hugging Shouhei, who seemed just as excited to see them. Chikara decided to leave them to it, as they would have enough time to enjoy their best friend‘s presence later, unlike those two.

"Huh? But Nekoma‘s six is a guy!", Hinata exclaimed, clearly confused. Chikara only sighed. They’re about to turn around and explain when they hear Tsukishima‘s voice. "You don’t know that. Ennoshita-san looks like a guy too but we all know they’re not, they’re nonbinary. Also, guys can wear dresses and skirts if they like.", his voice was laced with annoyance.

"Oh yeah you’re right!" Tsukishima was probably looking at Hinata like he was an idiot and Chikara knew that in every other situation Hinata would‘ve started a fight with him right then and there and only didn’t because he knew how wrong he was right now.

"Hey! Stop chitchatting and clean up the gym already!", Ukai yelled. Scared of their coaches wrath, the team quickly continued their task, leaving Shouhei to watch from the entrance.

They were changing now, Shouhei was patiently waiting outside. Ukai had looked at her once and then promptly decided that she was joining them for the meat buns. Chikara was grateful, as they were looking forward to the free food.

"Chikara, why didn’t you tell us Shouhei was gonna come?", Nishinoya asked. "I did.", they answered. "No! You told us you were having a sleepover With a friend. You didn’t tell us it was Fukunaga!", Ryuunosuke exclaimed. Chikara chuckled. "You Never asked." The two of them fell silent.

When they exited the clubroom, most of the Team was already outside.

"You’re Fukunaga Right? From Nekoma? What are your pronouns if you don’t mind me asking." Sugawara was talking to Shouhei and his friendly smile and motherly tone visibly calmed down Chikara‘s usually shy and quiet friend. "Yeah...and she/her, right now at least.", she answered. Sugawara hummed. "S-so they change?", Yachi who was standing next to the two asked shyly.

Shouhei smiled at her and nodded. She then began playing with her hair and only now did Chikara notice the black Alice band with the ribbon on top that she was wearing. They vaguely remembered Shouhei freaking out over text because Yamamoto had gifted it to her at some point. The memory made them smile.

"Is everyone ready?", Ukai asked. "Let‘s Go then." Shouhei‘s eyes met Chikara‘s and they immediately understood. "It‘s a short walk and it’s actually on our way home.", they said. Shouhei hummed in acknowledgement.

The walk was pleasant. Chikara got to chat with their team and eat some meat buns. They were of course careful not to eat too much so they could still eat dinner with their parents, Shouhei did the same. 

At first Chikara had been a bit worried about Shouhei, she was shy after all and they weren’t sure how she would handle being around so many people she wasn’t exactly familiar with.

It turned out to be fine however, as the team was friendly and only asked a few questions which Chikara and in some cases Nishinoya and Ryuunosuke were happy to answer so Shouhei wouldn’t have to force herself to speak.

Yachi was looking at Shouhei with something akin to awe. When she noticed this and looked at the first year questioningly, Yachi blushed. "I just uhm- I think you’re really really pretty. Oh my god that’s so embarrassing I’m gonna die! Oh uhm...I’m very sorry for staring!", she squealed. 

Shouhei stared at the girl for a few seconds and then started giggling. She laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

Chikara realized that, perhaps it was even better than fine.

They took a good look at Shouhei. Yachi wasn‘t wrong, she really was gorgeous. Chikara could no longer deny that they were envious. She didn’t only look beautiful, but also walked around in public in traditionally feminine clothing without being afraid.

They knew that she didn’t have to be afraid because she passed as a girl when she tried and nobody questioned her of course, but maybe that made them _even more_ envious.

Soon it was time for Shouhei and Chikara to part from the group.

"How long is your sleepover gonna be?", Ryuunosuke asked. "She’s leaving Sunday evening.", Chikara answered. "Well...that means we’re gonna show up at your place at some point! You can’t hog Shouhei all for yourself, we also wanna spend time with her! Right Ryu?"

There was no point in arguing with Nishinoya, but Chikara wasn’t planning to anyways. They liked hanging out with their friends after all and Shouhei liked it just as much.

"Of course you’re right Noya-San! ...but we’ll go on Sunday, that way you two have tomorrow to yourselves.", their boyfriend added that last part rather softly. Chikara appreciated that and they knew Shouhei did too.

They soon arrived at the Ennoshita’s home. "So...just a heads up. My parents are super excited to meet you, they‘ve wanted to ever since I told them that I have a friend my age who’s also gender queer or whatever.", Chikara fished out their keys. 

"They can be...a bit much. I told them that you can’t really handle people in general and strangers especially all that well of course but...yeah..." "Thanks and don’t worry, it’s fine. I‘m sure they’re lovely." It still amazed them that Shouhei was comfortable enough to speak to them like this.

They opened the door. "After you.", they said. Shouhei giggled and entered.

Dinner was _something_. Their parents were very _very_ excited, but it was also obvious to Chikara that they were trying their best not to be too pushy and make Shouhei uncomfortable. 

At first it was very awkward and Shouhei had a hard time, as expected. But it worked. Chikara gladly answered the questions which Shouhei couldn’t answer by nodding or shaking her head and by the end of dinner she actually felt comfortable enough to say a sentence herself.

"You know, you never really told us how you became friends. We know that you first met at that practice match and that you attend the same training camps of course, but that’s not how you became friends, is it?", their mother had asked. 

The friends chuckled at the memory. "Well...", Chikara began. "You know how Ryuunosuke immediately made friends with that one guy from Nekoma? That’s Shouhei’s boyfriend. Or...at the time he wasn’t but yeah. We met on a Skype call between those two."

"Oh? Were you sleeping at his house?", their father asked. "Yeah, and Shouhei at Yamamoto‘s. I accidentally came out and then Shouhei was interested in the whole gender thing, so I tried my best to explain it and ended up giving her my number so we could keep talking. I actually kinda had a hunch she might not be cis because she looked like I had just saved her life or something. But yeah after that we started texting and now we’re best friends.", Chikara explained.

Shouhei giggled. "Our boyfriends brought us best friends together.", she then said.

Their parents were absolutely delighted to hear Shouhei speak and in some way Chikara could understand. They had told them how hard it was for Shouhei to speak to people after all. Chikara had reacted similarly too.

The two of them had become friends over text and Shouhei had been extremely reluctant to call them or send voice messages even after they had become so incredibly close. So when she asked them to video chat one day Chikara had been incredibly proud and excited.

After dinner the friends made their way up to Chikara’s room, where a spare futon for Shouhei was already laying. 

It turned out that Shouhei slept in a cat onesie. Apparently she had bought it together with Kozume and Yamamoto when they had gone to the mall together. Kozume‘s was black, while Yamamoto‘s was yellow and Shouhei‘s was grey.

It had ears on the hood and a tail. It was cute, really, it suited her. Anything cute or pretty suited Shouhei in Chikara‘s opinion. They found themselves being envious again.

Suddenly Shouhei got closer to them and poked their cheek. "Wha- why?", they asked. Shouhei tilted her head. "You were frowning."

_Oh_. Chikara felt bad, they shouldn’t let their weird envy spoil one of the few times they got to spend time with Shouhei in person.

They were about to smile and say that it’s nothing when they made eye contact with Shouhei. Her gaze was soft, yet serious. "What’s wrong?", was what it said and Chikara knew that they had no choice but to answer that question truthfully.

"I envy you.", they admit quietly.

This seemed to throw Shouhei of guard, she sat down on the floor in front of Chikara and wordlessly urged them on.

"You pass as a girl when you wanna, you know?" Shouhei‘s eyes widened and she hummed in understanding. Still wanting Chikara to elaborate further.

They were sure that she already knew exactly what they were going to say, but they also both knew that saying it out loud would make Chikara feel better.

"I‘m more...masculine. It doesn’t really bother me most of time, but sometimes I want to be more feminine too." They hesitated. "I’m scared though? I guess? Not even of being judged...just...I hate being masculine sometimes but I’m scared that I‘ll hate what I see when I try being feminine. I‘m afraid of freaking out and breaking down, so I do nothing, but that makes me even more upset."

Chikara sighed into their hands. "But then I see you...doing it so, so effortlessly? You‘d think I‘d take it as encouragement, but instead it just makes me envy you. You‘re so so pretty and cute and _perfect_ and I feel _horrible_ because if I had just a third of your confidence I could maybe be happy instead of feeling like crap because of my dysphoria." They could feel themselves tearing up. 

"But that’s nonsense. You’re not just super duper confident and just do what makes you happy without being scared, I know that. I _know_ how insecure you are Shouhei. But still, you can wear skirts and makeup in public when you feel like it and you pass as a girl and you look gorgeous! Yet here I am, too afraid to paint my nails at home on a weekend when I‘m alone and literally no one will ever know because I‘m afraid being my ugly self is enough to trigger my dysphoria."

The two of them sat in silence for a while. Chikara looked up and realized that Shouhei was debating what to say. 

Chikara was pretty sure they knew what things she was debating on telling them.

They were beautiful the way they were and feminine enough. That was always a possibility. But it wouldn’t work and probably not even seem to Chikara honest.

Then there was the whole it’s hard for her too thing. But Chikara already knew that Shouhei also got very insecure at times and that her dysphoria got really bad from time to time. That didn’t change how they felt, if anything it made it worse.

They were sure it was going to be either of those things, either of them wouldn’t help. But Shouhei surprised them with what she said.

"I brought a skirt, you can try it on tomorrow. The dress I wore today too. They might be a little longer but they should fit.", she offered

Chikara looked at their friend, completely bewildered.

"I brought makeup too, so you can experiment a little, I‘ll help of course. I‘ll make sure you look pretty, that way you don’t have to be afraid of hating the result."

They were confused, but the offer did seem somewhat appealing.

"So?" Chikara couldn’t help but smile. "Yeah, I‘d like that." They wiped away the few tears that had managed to built up.

Shouhei seemed to consider something for a second and then crawled over to Chikara and gently embraced them. "S‘this okay?", she asked. Was this okay? They took a few seconds to think and then nodded.

"Tora and I cuddle when I break down. Helps.", Shouhei explains and Chikara can’t help but giggle. "Thank you Shouhei.", they say. "Seriously."

They wrap their arms around Shouhei and lean on her, she holds them close. The cat onesie is as soft as it looks.

"Anytime."

**Author's Note:**

> Did I want to continue either the Asanoya series, the Chat fic or the Tsukkiyama fic? Yeah
> 
> Do I have two drafts for a whole new series that I might publish at some point? Also yeah
> 
> Do I have ideas for a fic in a whole different fandom that I have wrote a draft off? Yeah again.
> 
> Was I unable to write anything due to my shitty mental health? Yep
> 
> Did I instead write this fic while trying to sleep bc I suddenly had inspiration AND motivation and don’t even know where they came from? Precisely 
> 
> I dunno, this is more of a comfort fic and whenever I upload a one-shot for this series it’s probably because I needed comfort.  
> But now that I wrote something again I feel like I‘m capable of continuing my other stuff and eventually starting new stuff, so that’s great-
> 
> ALSO I S W E A R THIS STARTED OUT AS A FEEL GOOD HAPPY FIC WHERE FUKUNAGA JUST COMES OVER AND THERE‘S LOTS OF PLATONIC FLUFF AND THEY‘RE JUST HAPPY BUT HALFWAY THROUGH I JUST FREAKING E R A S E D EVERYTHING EXCEPT FOR THE BEGINNING AND THIS HAPPENED-


End file.
